Due to the polar vortex, offices have been shuttered, schools have been closed, and many basic services that one takes for granted have been suspended, including the US Postal services.

The city skyline is seen from the North Avenue Beach at Lake Michigan, as bitter cold phenomenon called the polar vortex has descended on much of the central and eastern United States, in Chicago. (Image: Reuters)

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Schools across the US have shut down as a polar vortex casts a freezing spell over many countries in the northern hemisphere, virtually bringing life in many parts of the region to a virtual standstill.

Reuters reported a large swath of the United States was gripped by brutal cold and wind chills on Wednesday and Thursday as record-low temperatures caused by a blast of Arctic air moved across the Midwest and into Eastern states, prompting residents to stay indoors.

Offices have been shuttered, schools have been closed, and many basic services that one takes for granted have been suspended, including the US Postal services in some areas, despite their unofficially official motto of "neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers".

With parents trapped indoors with their kids and people not getting their Amazon orders, anything is a welcome distraction, including throwing pots of boiling water into the wind and seeing whether it becomes snow. No, seriously. It's that boring you guys. Or maybe it's a form of cathartic revenge, because revenge is a dish best served cold, teehee (stop groaning, you know I had to go there).

How a science teacher passes the time in a snow day. AccuWeather records current air temp at -21°F and wind-chill at -46°F If you do this, make sure you toss it so that the wrong doesn't blow the boiling water back into you. pic.twitter.com/06M61HEa9l